


Relationship Status: It's Complicated

by LeftyVoyager



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 20:29:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3623241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftyVoyager/pseuds/LeftyVoyager
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Endgame.  Admiral Nechayev decides to question Janeway about her unique personal relationship with Chakotay during one of the numerous mission debriefing sessions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relationship Status: It's Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> My very first post Endgame story. The title is a pun - though it has nothing to do with what this story is about, I do wonder what the 24th century equivalent to Facebook would be.

Relationship Status: It's Complicated

Admiral Nechayev looked down at Janeway with eyes full of accusation.  It was the start of the fourth week of debriefings after Voyager's triumphant return to the Alpha Quadrant.  The captain returned the admiral's gaze with laser precision.  Admiral Paris had prepped her for this round of questioning, and she thought it was beyond absurd.

"Captain.  Please describe the nature of your relationship with Commander Chakotay."

Janeway refused to so much as blink.  "He is my first officer and best friend.  I couldn't imagine a day out there without him."  It was her standard response.  The one she used even on Voyager anytime Tuvok or the Doctor wanted to know.  It explained everything and nothing all at the same time.

Nechayev expected the answer and smugly replied, "You know we need to know more than that."

"Of course, Admiral."  Her eyes narrowed even further.  "I have been considering how much of my personal life to reveal to this board of inquiry and--"

Nechayev interrupted, "As THE LONE Starfleet authority in the Delta Quadrant, you did not have the luxury of having a personal life, Captain."

Janeway paused long enough for the admiral to stop speaking and finished her comment, "and I have decided that since I believe you are trying to determine if my judgment was impaired, I will allow this line of questioning to continue.  For the first two years, I remained faithful to my fiancée, Mark Johnson.  I believed he would wait for me as long as was reasonable.  We were very much in love."

"Then what happened?"  The admiral had the look of a vulture circling.

"I was stranded with Chakotay on a planet due to a virus we had contracted.  We were the only humanoids on the planet, and we believed we'd remain there for the rest of our lives.  We got very close."

"Sexually?" demanded Nechayev.

"Admiral, please!" interrupted Admiral Paris.  Besides the fact that he didn't agree with this prying, he had considered himself to be a mentor of Kathryn's and he frankly didn't care to know about her sex life.

"Yes," hissed Janeway.  "But it was still a very new relationship when Voyager returned with a cure.  We mutually decided to resume our platonic friendship on Voyager.  I thought if I had a chance to get home, I should continue to wait to get home to Mark.  I felt I owed that to him and hoped he would forgive my transgression.  Chakotay was hurt, but so understanding.  He always did everything in his power to make my burden easier."

Nechayev looked bored with this response.  "Yes, but then things changed, didn't they, Captain?"

Janeway sighed.  "During the fourth year of our journey, I got a 'Dear John' letter, so to speak.  Mark had moved on, and I had to as well.  After that, it didn't take long for working dinners to turn into dates.  We were both lonely, didn't want to fraternize with anyone else in the crew and didn't want short term flings with aliens we would never see again.  We're human.  Yes, we represented Starfleet, and we did a damn good job, as the record shows.  But we are humans, and we needed each other.  We had sex, Admiral, in case you're keeping score."

"And you didn't inform your crew of this relationship.  Why?" asked the admiral.

Captain Janeway allowed her eyes to close momentarily as the memories of those early days in their relationship flooded her mind as if it had happened yesterday.

***

"Chakotay, you know we need to talk about parameters again."  It was the morning after.

"Kathryn - please don't tell me you want to forget this happened.  I can't do that."

"Never, Chakotay.  I couldn't if I tried.  It's just that...  I don't even know why I'm suggesting this.  I've never done this before."  She grabbed his hand across the breakfast table.

"What is it, then?" he asked, gently.  He didn't push or demand anything from her.

"I'm the captain, Chakotay.  I can't be in a relationship.  I love you dearly, but this ship will always come first.  I'm going to have days when I'm too tired or distracted to hold up my end of our commitment.  I might not remember your birthday or our anniversary.  I might have to send you to your death.  We might have times when we have to work opposite shifts.  I might be on the bridge instead of by your side if you're injured in sickbay.  I have the only job on the ship you can't take a vacation from."

Chakotay brought her fingertips to his lips.  "I understand, Kathryn - I truly do.  But I think you need someone to ease all of your burdens, not just the command ones.  And I would love for that person to be me.  You need to be hugged and kissed and given back rubs.  You need to be called by your first name."

"Chakotay, you can do so much for me, but what do I have to offer you?  It would be my second best.  You deserve to be loved full time."

"So, what can we do?" he asked.

Kathryn sighed.  What she had in her head seemed almost silly, but maybe it could work.  "I've heard of other captains and even admirals having relationships like this...  They called it 'friends with benefits.'"

***

"So," concluded Janeway, "even though we loved each other with all our hearts, we told no one, made no promises to each other and provided each other comfort.  It was hard for both of us, and our interest in each other ebbed and flowed as the stress of command strained our friendship.  There were several times when I told Chakotay he should stray for his own good, and he sometimes did.  I even tried to rely on a holographic boyfriend for a while.  Not something I would recommend."

Admiral Nechayev tried to maintain her haughtiness, but even she was aware that Janeway's story of loneliness and love had moved the admirals on the board of inquiry, several of them who had dealt with affairs of the heart in the course of their own careers in deep space.  "What is the status of your relationship with Commander Chakotay now?"

"Since we are now home and I have regained the right to my own privacy, with all due respect, that is none of your business.  But I will tell you anyway.  Chakotay and I are not in a romantic relationship at this time."  She wore the famous "captain's mask" expression she was known for, but was betrayed by a single tear that fell down her face.  She refused to draw attention to it by wiping it away.

Admiral Paris stood and said, "I think we can agree that this topic is closed and no wrongs have been committed here.  This session is dismissed.  We will reconvene this afternoon to discuss Voyager's incidents concerning the Temporal Prime Directive."

Janeway inwardly groaned.  Talking about time travel always gives her a headache!

The End

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bringing Kathryn Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4539360) by [LeftyVoyager](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftyVoyager/pseuds/LeftyVoyager)




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